One aspect of downtown Athens that authorities have been yearning to fix for years now is the prevalence of panhandling. Panhandling, or soliciting money, is not illegal—it is a First Amendment right, which means individuals who panhandle cannot be prosecuted unless they are actively threatening the safety of others. That’s categorized as aggressive panhandling, which Athens-Clarke County does have a law against. Deputy Police Chief Harrison Daniel said at the Nov. 9 Athens Downtown Development Authority meeting that this issue occurs when a panhandler becomes hostile and relentless in their effort even after being declined. As described in section 3-15-1 of ACC’s code of ordinances, behaviors such as accosting, following after someone and being boisterous under the influence are all prohibited.
People who visit downtown commonly (and falsely) assume that panhandlers are homeless or vice versa, which ADDA board members view as a problem. They agreed that panhandling, both the visual representation and the presumed behaviors associated with it, gives the area a bad rap. The question, then, as proposed by board member Jeff Bishop, is how does the ADDA legally discourage people from loitering or panhandling?
Mayor Kelly Girtz said one factor that enables panhandling is the naivety of young people. According to Girtz, instead of donating to service providers or homeless shelters such as Bigger Vision or the Athens Homeless Coalition, young people tend to give money to panhandlers they encounter on the street. Girtz described this tendency as an “authentic human response” despite the harm that it perpetuates. In the past, the city had tried hosting drop boxes downtown to collect donations for those facing homelessness. Unfortunately, they were not popular with the public, and the last box was removed during the construction of Clayton Street. ADDA Vice Chair Drew Dekle pointed out that putting change in a box doesn’t feel as compassionate as directly giving to someone, which was probably why the project wasn’t very successful. Thus, the general lack of knowledge on how to best aid homeless individuals likely contributes to the panhandling situation. The ADDA then discussed working with community groups to address this concern.
When asked what tools would be useful to police, Daniel responded that the department is short 48 officers, although he quickly acknowledged that deploying more officers on the street corners can send a different message. Over-policing one specific part of Athens is not the goal here, but additional staff would improve the department’s capabilities, he said. Surveillance technology is also crucial. In addition to the new cameras that have been installed downtown, ACCPD is currently setting up a real-time crime center. This is essentially a joint effort between the 911 center and partner organizations to monitor real-time video footage, whether through security cameras or body cams. Daniel said that live surveillance can speed up information relayed to the office and be a source of evidence in certain cases.
In regards to panhandling itself, the only direct action authorities can really take is to regulate the time, place and manner of signage or requiring permits for signage, regardless of content. Since rules are already in place for aggressive panhandling, it is unlikely that ACC would double down and employ these tactics anytime soon.
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